Pitt, Syracuse set to leave Big East for ACC

Although it is officially unknown when the transfer will take place, the Atlantic Coast Conference is already preparing for the arrival of the Pittsburgh Panthers. Although it is officially unknown when the transfer will take place, the Atlantic Coast Conference is already preparing for the arrival of the Pittsburgh Panthers.

The ACC recently grouped its 14 future programs into two seven-team divisions that will officially take effect when its two newest members — Pitt and Syracuse — join the conference in either 2013 or 2014.

The realignment placed the Panthers in the Coastal Division, which will also include Duke, North Carolina, Miami (Fla.), Virginia, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. Pitt has a combined record of 33-45-1 against these opponents on the football field — seeing most of this action against Miami (Fla.) and Virginia Tech prior to their departures from the Big East to the ACC in 2003.

The ACC’s other division will be named the Atlantic Division, with Syracuse, Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, Maryland, North Carolina State and Wake Forest all set to compete against each other.

The decision comes a few months after the announcement that Pitt and Syracuse would be leaving the Big East for the ACC.

After spending the previous 30 seasons playing in the Big East, the Panthers and the Orange applied to join the ACC last September. A day later, voters representing the ACC reviewed the application and accepted both teams to the conference.

But Pitt and Syracuse quickly found out that switching conferences isn’t a simple process.

For teams to leave the Big East, they must first give the conference 27 months notice and pay a $5 million opt-out fee. But as West Virginia proved last February, the length of the waiting period is negotiable.

The Mountaineers agreed to pay a combined $20 million to the Big East in order to leave the conference immediately following the 2012 spring sports season.

Earlier this year, Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson said that to “protect the interests of this institution,” Pitt will not pay more than the $5 million exit fee to leave the conference before 27 months pass, which could leave the Panthers waiting until 2014 before being allowed to finalize the switch to the ACC.

But John Marinatto, who recently stepped down as Big East commissioner, hinted a little later that after the Big East added several schools to replace Pitt, Syracuse and West Virginia for 2013, the conference may allow the Panthers and Orange to join the ACC in the summer of 2013.

But following Marinatto’s exit, the relationship between Pitt and the Big East broke down.

Tired of waiting for a final decision about when it will be allowed to complete its move to the ACC, Pitt filed a lawsuit against the Big East on May 11 in an attempt to expedite its departure from the conference and to receive reparations for lost revenue stemming from lost home games against West Virginia, Texas Christian University and Central Florida in 2012.

“A few weeks ago, Steve Pederson met with John Marrinato to begin the process to work toward an exit after this upcoming academic year,” Pitt Athletics spokesman E.J. Borghetti said in a statement after Pitt filed the lawsuit. “However, attempts to contact the Big East in the following weeks to move the process forward have been unsuccessful, leading us to conclude that negotiations would not occur.”

Until the lawsuit is settled or the Big East finally decides what it wants to do for the 2013 season, the fate of Pitt and Syracuse athletics for that year will remain a mystery.

Pitt might still be on board to participate in the Big East for the 2012 football season, but many fans are more excited for the non-conference game next season that will preview Pitt football post-transition to the ACC. On Saturday, Sept. 15, Pitt will welcome future Coastal Division rival Virginia Tech to Heinz Field.

Although the uncertainties remain about the exact date Pitt will begin competing in the ACC, the scheduling outlook for the Panthers is set once they finally complete the conference switch.

In football, along with facing all Coastal Division opponents, Pitt will have a primary crossover partnership with Syracuse, meeting the Orange every year. The Panthers will also face two other members of the Atlantic Division, playing each team twice over six years.

On the basketball court, the ACC will move away from the divisional format to play an 18-game schedule of rotating opponents, and each team will have a partner it will be guaranteed to face twice every season. Pitt will be paired up with the University of Maryland, which owns a 5-2 all-time record against the Panthers.

Athletes from other sports have expressed positive feedback about the prospect of joining the ACC.

“It’s very exciting,” said Ethan Mildren, a rising junior pitcher on the Pitt baseball team. “We’ll play some good competition, some of the top teams in the country, and hopefully we can even keep some of our current Big East rivalries.”

Maintaining these old rivalries is also a priority in football and basketball.

Pitt’s Backyard Brawl rivalry with West Virginia in both football and basketball might be discontinued because of the ACC’s tight out-of-conference scheduling. The Panthers will no longer travel annually to schools such as St. John’s, Connecticut and Villanova, which might cause Pitt to move its primarily New England recruiting base farther south.

This issue of continuing long-time Big East rivalries doesn’t look likely to be resolved any time soon, meaning the Panthers could be forced to develop new rivalries once they enter the ACC.

Sports Editor RJ Sepich contributed to this report.